Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer
One man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure at Richmond’s Barter Markets — a reoccurring gathering rooted in camaraderie and sustainability hosted by the Anonymous Club.
The markets — in which barterers trade whatever they have for whatever they want — were created as a protest against corporate consumption amid the genocide in Gaza. The next one is on Feb. 21.
Tables of books, clothes, trinkets and more will span the Warehouse 317 Collective building, a hub built by artistic professionals for all things creative, as Richmonders exchange their unwanted items for whatever catches their eye.
“It was really cool to see, although at first I didn’t know what it was,” Richmond native Sophia Nealy said. “But once I realized it was a place to exchange items without having to pay, I was instantly drawn to it.”
Nealy went to the Anonymous Club’s November pop-up, which marked the fifth Barter Market by the group. As a big thrifter, she was happy to see the array of items that were on display, particularly the clothing, which she noted ranged across several different aesthetics.
“My friends and I love to go thrifting, you know?” Nealy said. “I thought it was pretty unique how literally anyone could bring their clothes and I could just take it. There were boots, jeans, t-shirts and a lot of stuff I probably would’ve spent hours at a shop looking for if I didn’t find them here.”
Experiences like Nealy’s highlight the community interaction and accessibility the creators of the market hope to establish.
Bear Lumpkin, half of the founding duo that created the Anonymous Club, traces their start to October 2023.
“We started back when everything in Palestine started to ramp up,” Lumpkin said. “We were having a hard time grappling with our place in that, and we wanted to figure out something we could do to change the way we normally thought about resources or community.”
The idea behind the Barter Market was to avoid using corporate businesses like Goodwill and other donation services. Without the middle man, people are free to come together to trade and exchange however they want without the prices, Lumpkin said.
Initially, Lumpkin was worried about the overall set up of the market — how it would work and if people would know how to trade in a society where money is the ultimate form of exchange.
“At first, we weren’t sure how it was going to work, but when we did the first one in April of 2025, we felt that it happened very naturally,” Lumpkin said.
Lumpkin further noticed that many people had not wanted to take anything for themselves, but chose to donate items ranging from clothes to household items such as detergent.
“I think it broadened people’s minds to the idea of overconsumption and what value means,” Lumpkin said. “When you’re at the market, you stop and think ‘Oh, I was gonna go to Goodwill or Walmart, but you end up getting it for free.”
Through the market, Lumpkin has met and collaborated with members of other organizations, often sharing ideas and resources as a “network of activists.”
Eden Larkin began attending Anonymous Club meetings around mid-summer of 2025 before later becoming involved in the planning for the market.
“I was told about the club and the market by mutual friends,” Larkin said. “It was a nice way to decompress and talk to and hang out with new people, plus sharing items I no longer had a purpose for, got to be put in better hands.”
Larkin has designed several of the flyers for the event, emphasizing the importance of caring for the community.
“During unpredictable times, a community space needs to be created,” Larkin said. “It can be hard to know where to start with mutual aid, and this is just one event among many initiatives in the Richmond area. Everyone has something to contribute, and this is just one example.”
The Barter Market has gained enough traction within the creative world of Richmond where the current upcoming location, Warehouse 317 Collective, is hosting the market for free.
As an all-day affair now being held indoors, they have more space and room to set up without the worry of the winter cold nipping at the market-goers.
Many community members and collaborators hope that the Barter Market isn’t just an exchange of goods, but an exchange of ideas. In a world driven by consumption and price tags, the market stands as a reminder that building community and helping the environment does not have to be transactional.
What began as a small effort by the Anonymous Club to grapple with injustice continues to thrive as a local movement rooted in uplifting the environment and unifying communities, one trade at a time.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story mislabeled Eden Larkin’s title. The story has been updated.